feat(plan): implement persistent approvalMode setting (#17350)

packages/cli/src/config/config.test.ts

@@ -2233,6 +2233,19 @@ describe('loadCliConfig approval mode', () => {
     expect(config.getApprovalMode()).toBe(ServerConfig.ApprovalMode.PLAN);
   });
 
+  it('should ignore "yolo" in settings.tools.approvalMode and fall back to DEFAULT', async () => {
+    process.argv = ['node', 'script.js'];
+    const settings = createTestMergedSettings({
+      tools: {
+        // @ts-expect-error: testing invalid value
+        approvalMode: 'yolo',
+      },
+    });
+    const argv = await parseArguments(settings);
+    const config = await loadCliConfig(settings, 'test-session', argv);
+    expect(config.getApprovalMode()).toBe(ServerConfig.ApprovalMode.DEFAULT);
+  });
+
   it('should throw error when --approval-mode=plan is used but experimental.plan is disabled', async () => {
     process.argv = ['node', 'script.js', '--approval-mode', 'plan'];
     const argv = await parseArguments(createTestMergedSettings());
@@ -2310,6 +2323,67 @@ describe('loadCliConfig approval mode', () => {
       expect(config.getApprovalMode()).toBe(ServerConfig.ApprovalMode.DEFAULT);
     });
   });
+
+  describe('Persistent approvalMode setting', () => {
+    it('should use approvalMode from settings when no CLI flags are set', async () => {
+      process.argv = ['node', 'script.js'];
+      const settings = createTestMergedSettings({
+        tools: { approvalMode: 'auto_edit' },
+      });
+      const argv = await parseArguments(settings);
+      const config = await loadCliConfig(settings, 'test-session', argv);
+      expect(config.getApprovalMode()).toBe(
+        ServerConfig.ApprovalMode.AUTO_EDIT,
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should prioritize --approval-mode flag over settings', async () => {
+      process.argv = ['node', 'script.js', '--approval-mode', 'auto_edit'];
+      const settings = createTestMergedSettings({
+        tools: { approvalMode: 'default' },
+      });
+      const argv = await parseArguments(settings);
+      const config = await loadCliConfig(settings, 'test-session', argv);
+      expect(config.getApprovalMode()).toBe(
+        ServerConfig.ApprovalMode.AUTO_EDIT,
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should prioritize --yolo flag over settings', async () => {
+      process.argv = ['node', 'script.js', '--yolo'];
+      const settings = createTestMergedSettings({
+        tools: { approvalMode: 'auto_edit' },
+      });
+      const argv = await parseArguments(settings);
+      const config = await loadCliConfig(settings, 'test-session', argv);
+      expect(config.getApprovalMode()).toBe(ServerConfig.ApprovalMode.YOLO);
+    });
+
+    it('should respect plan mode from settings when experimental.plan is enabled', async () => {
+      process.argv = ['node', 'script.js'];
+      const settings = createTestMergedSettings({
+        tools: { approvalMode: 'plan' },
+        experimental: { plan: true },
+      });
+      const argv = await parseArguments(settings);
+      const config = await loadCliConfig(settings, 'test-session', argv);
+      expect(config.getApprovalMode()).toBe(ServerConfig.ApprovalMode.PLAN);
+    });
+
+    it('should throw error if plan mode is in settings but experimental.plan is disabled', async () => {
+      process.argv = ['node', 'script.js'];
+      const settings = createTestMergedSettings({
+        tools: { approvalMode: 'plan' },
+        experimental: { plan: false },
+      });
+      const argv = await parseArguments(settings);
+      await expect(
+        loadCliConfig(settings, 'test-session', argv),
+      ).rejects.toThrow(
+        'Approval mode "plan" is only available when experimental.plan is enabled.',
+      );
+    });
+  });
 });
 
 describe('loadCliConfig fileFiltering', () => {

packages/cli/src/config/config.ts

@@ -502,9 +502,15 @@ export async function loadCliConfig(
 
   // Determine approval mode with backward compatibility
   let approvalMode: ApprovalMode;
-  if (argv.approvalMode) {
-    // New --approval-mode flag takes precedence
-    switch (argv.approvalMode) {
+  const rawApprovalMode =
+    argv.approvalMode ||
+    (argv.yolo ? 'yolo' : undefined) ||
+    ((settings.tools?.approvalMode as string) !== 'yolo'
+      ? settings.tools.approvalMode
+      : undefined);
+
+  if (rawApprovalMode) {
+    switch (rawApprovalMode) {
       case 'yolo':
         approvalMode = ApprovalMode.YOLO;
         break;
@@ -524,13 +530,11 @@ export async function loadCliConfig(
         break;
       default:
         throw new Error(
-          `Invalid approval mode: ${argv.approvalMode}. Valid values are: yolo, auto_edit, plan, default`,
+          `Invalid approval mode: ${rawApprovalMode}. Valid values are: yolo, auto_edit, plan, default`,
         );
     }
   } else {
-    // Fallback to legacy --yolo flag behavior
-    approvalMode =
-      argv.yolo || false ? ApprovalMode.YOLO : ApprovalMode.DEFAULT;
+    approvalMode = ApprovalMode.DEFAULT;
   }
 
   // Override approval mode if disableYoloMode is set.

packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts

@@ -1023,6 +1023,24 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
         `,
         showInDialog: true,
       },
+      approvalMode: {
+        type: 'enum',
+        label: 'Approval Mode',
+        category: 'Tools',
+        requiresRestart: false,
+        default: 'default',
+        description: oneLine`
+          The default approval mode for tool execution.
+          'default' prompts for approval, 'auto_edit' auto-approves edit tools,
+          and 'plan' is read-only mode. 'yolo' is not supported yet.
+        `,
+        showInDialog: true,
+        options: [
+          { value: 'default', label: 'Default' },
+          { value: 'auto_edit', label: 'Auto Edit' },
+          { value: 'plan', label: 'Plan' },
+        ],
+      },
       core: {
         type: 'array',
         label: 'Core Tools',